AI in Building Surveying: Who Controls Your Data and Professional Decisions?
AI agents, building survey reports and data security: what professional surveyors need to know.
Imagine an AI system that can access your professional reporting library, retrieve previous inspection records, analyse photographs and help prepare a building survey report.
Now imagine that the same system can also amend technical commentary, change condition ratings, delete records or issue reports on your behalf.
At what point does AI stop assisting the surveyor and start making decisions that should remain with the professional?
This question is becoming increasingly relevant as artificial intelligence moves beyond generating information towards performing actions through AI agents.
An AI agent may have legitimate access to a system yet still perform an action that nobody intended or authorised.
For building surveyors, this raises three important questions:
1. Who owns the professional knowledge supplied to AI?
2. Who controls the information AI can access?
3. Who authorises the actions AI can perform?
AI Assistants vs AI Agents in Building Surveying
Traditional AI-assisted report writing primarily involves processing inspection observations and preparing draft commentary for the surveyor to review.
AI agents can go further. Depending on their configuration, they may retrieve information, interact with software, update records and carry out a series of tasks.
For example, an AI agent preparing a RICS Home Survey Level 3 report might retrieve technical commentary, analyse inspection notes and populate relevant report sections.
However, should it also be permitted to overwrite existing commentary, change condition ratings or remove information it considers unnecessary?
The distinction is important: permission to access information does not automatically mean permission to change it.
In cybersecurity, the principle of least privilege means that systems should only have the permissions necessary to perform their intended tasks.
An AI agent retrieving technical knowledge may only need read-only access. This should not automatically give it permission to amend or delete records, change condition ratings or issue a professional building survey report.
Another concern is prompt injection, where misleading instructions hidden within documents or other information attempt to influence an AI agent's behaviour, potentially causing it to take actions beyond those intended.
This highlights the importance of clearly defined permissions, appropriate safeguards and human oversight. AI-powered surveying software should distinguish between reading information and making changes, maintain records of significant actions and require professional approval where necessary.
These safeguards should be built into the software itself, rather than relying solely on instructions given to the AI.
Who Owns Your Professional Knowledge When Using AI?
A Chartered Surveyor may have spent decades developing technical expertise, refining reporting language and building a valuable library of professional commentary.
When this knowledge is uploaded into AI-powered surveying software, important questions arise.
Does the software provider acquire rights to use it? Can other users access it? Is it used to train AI models? Can the surveyor retrieve, amend or remove it?
These questions become particularly important when professional knowledge is combined with confidential client details, property addresses, inspection photographs and previous building survey reports.
Importantly, using AI does not necessarily mean training AI.
Information submitted to an AI model may simply be processed to generate a response without becoming part of the model's training data.
Some AI systems also allow professional knowledge to be stored separately and retrieved when required. For example, a surveyor's preferred commentary on condensation, structural movement or defective roof coverings can be used to help prepare future reports without retraining the underlying AI model.
However, storing information separately does not automatically guarantee ownership or confidentiality. Appropriate contractual protections, security measures, access controls and clear data management arrangements remain essential.
The question is not simply whether AI can use your professional knowledge, but whether you retain control over how it is stored, accessed and applied.
AI Data Security: What Happens to Your Information?
Just because an AI provider confirms that your information will not be used to train its models does not necessarily mean that the information will not be stored elsewhere.
When surveyors use AI-powered report writing software, their information may be stored within the application, sent to an external AI provider for processing or retained in system logs and backups.
Each of these systems may have different arrangements for how long information is kept and when it is deleted.
OpenAI, for example, states that information submitted through its API is not used to train its models by default. However, under standard arrangements, certain customer content may be retained for up to 30 days for security and misuse monitoring, subject to exceptions. Some services and features have different retention arrangements.
Surveyors should therefore understand where their information goes, who can access it, how long it is retained and what happens when they choose to delete it.
Not using information to train AI models does not necessarily mean that the information is not being stored.
What Does UK GDPR Require When Surveyors Use AI?
The UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has published guidance confirming that existing data protection obligations apply when AI systems process personal information.
These include lawful processing, transparency, data minimisation, appropriate security measures, accountability and justified data retention periods.
UK GDPR does not prescribe a universal retention period for personal information. Instead, organisations should only retain it for as long as necessary, taking account of relevant legal and professional obligations.
For surveying practices, this is particularly important. Inspection records, photographs, reports and correspondence may need to be retained for several years, particularly where a complaint arises, a professional indemnity insurance claim is made or allegations of professional negligence need to be addressed.
However, just because a surveying practice has legitimate reasons to retain its professional records does not mean that external AI providers should be permitted to keep the same information indefinitely.
Deleting information from a software platform does not always mean every copy disappears immediately. Copies may remain in backups or system records until they are deleted or overwritten under the provider's retention arrangements.
Understanding what happens when you click 'Delete' is just as important as knowing what happens when you click 'Upload'.
Why Professional Judgement Must Remain With the Surveyor
A building survey report is not simply a collection of technically accurate paragraphs. It represents a professional assessment based on inspection evidence, limitations, experience and judgement.
An AI system may retrieve technical information about stepped cracking, differential movement or foundation defects, but that does not establish whether structural movement is occurring at a particular property.
Likewise, AI should not independently change significant condition ratings or approve recommendations without appropriate professional review.
AI can assist with recording inspection observations, retrieving technical knowledge and preparing draft commentary. However, the surveyor remains responsible for assessing the evidence, interpreting defects and approving the final report.
There is an important difference between AI providing information, suggesting recommendations and taking action on a surveyor's behalf.
Seven Questions Every Surveyor Should Ask Before Using AI Report Writing Software
Before using AI-enabled building surveying software, consider asking:
1. AI training: Is my information used to train AI models, including those operated by third-party providers?
2. Data security: Where is my information stored, and who can access it?
3. Data retention: How long is my information kept, including copies held by external AI providers or in backups?
4. Ownership: Do I retain control of my professional reporting knowledge, and can I access, update, export or remove it?
5. Deleting information: What happens to my reports and other information if I delete them or close my account?
6. AI permissions: Can AI agents only read information and prepare commentary, or can they also amend or delete existing records?
7. Professional control: Do I have the final say over significant changes and decisions, and is there a record of actions performed by AI?
Responsible software providers should be able to explain these matters clearly.
MyReport® and Report Genius®: Keeping Surveyors in Control
These considerations have been central to the development of MyReport®, a UK-based cloud reporting platform designed specifically for professional surveyors, with an emphasis on data security, confidentiality and control over professional knowledge.
MyReport® brings together inspection records, photographs, voice recordings and personalised reporting knowledge within a structured reporting environment, helping surveyors manage their inspections and prepare professional reports more efficiently.
Its optional AI-assisted reporting feature, Report Genius®, draws on inspection observations and the surveyor's personalised reporting knowledge to prepare draft commentary that reflects their preferred terminology and reporting approach.
Professional knowledge is maintained separately from the underlying AI model, and customer information is not used to train public AI models.
Surveyors can also continue using MyReport® without AI-generated commentary, maintaining control over their reporting process and professional decisions.
The objective is to support professional reporting, not transfer responsibility for professional decision-making.
Technology should support the surveyor's expertise, not assume the surveyor's authority.
Final Thoughts: The Future of AI in Building Surveying
Artificial intelligence offers considerable opportunities to improve the efficiency of building surveying and professional report writing.
However, as AI agents become capable of taking actions rather than simply generating information, data security, ownership and professional control become even more important.
Surveyors spend years developing their expertise, and clients trust them with confidential information. Both deserve proper protection.
The future of AI-assisted surveying should not simply be about writing reports faster, but ensuring that professional knowledge is protected and that final decisions remain firmly with the surveyor.